Warm Spiced Apple Cider with Cinnamon, Clove and Orange for Halloween

Pour the apple cider into a large stockpot or Dutch oven and set it over medium heat.

Serves 8

Ingredients

• 8 cups (2 quarts) fresh unfiltered apple cider
• 1 orange, sliced into rounds
• 4 cinnamon sticks, plus more for garnish
• 8 whole cloves
• 4 whole allspice berries
• 2 star anise
• 1-inch piece fresh ginger, sliced
• 2 tablespoons maple syrup or brown sugar, to taste
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
• Pinch of kosher salt
• Extra orange slices and apple slices, for garnish

Instructions

1. Pour the apple cider into a large stockpot or Dutch oven and set it over medium heat.
2. Add the orange rounds, cinnamon sticks, cloves, allspice, star anise and ginger. Bring just to a gentle simmer; do not let it boil hard or the spices will turn bitter.
3. Reduce the heat to low, cover and let the cider steep for 30 to 45 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the kitchen smells like autumn.
4. Stir in the maple syrup, nutmeg and salt. Taste and add more sweetener if your cider is on the tart side.
5. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve into a heatproof pitcher, or simply ladle straight from the pot, leaving the spices behind.
6. Serve hot in mugs with a fresh cinnamon stick and a slice of orange or apple in each. Keep the pot on the lowest heat or in a slow cooker so trick-or-treaters can help themselves all night.
7. For a spooky touch, float a few thin apple slices on top of each mug and stud them with cloves to look like tiny jack-o-lantern faces.
8. Hot spiced cider is the taste of an American autumn, poured at orchards, hayrides and front porches from New England to the Pacific Northwest since colonial days, when cider was the everyday drink of farm families. The spices echo the mulled wines of medieval Europe, but the unfiltered, cloudy cider itself is purely American. It is naturally alcohol-free, so every guest from toddlers to grandparents can hold a warm mug on Halloween night.

Nutrition (estimated, per serving)

• Calories: 140 kcal
• Protein: 0g
• Fat: 0g
• Carbohydrates: 35g
• Fiber: 1g
• Sugar: 30g
• Sodium: 40mg